Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 19, 2023
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 19, 2023
Police say 742 bodies of civilians have been identified so far as work continues
The bodies of Israelis killed in a Hamas-led slaughter are gathered for identification at a military base in Ramle, Oct. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zweigenberg)
The Israel Police says in a statement that so far the bodies of 742 civilians have been identified from the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel.
Of those, 645 have been transferred to families for burial.
Police say that workers and volunteers have been working 24/7 since the start of the war in order to identify the slew of bodies collected following the murderous rampage in which some 1,400 Israelis are believed to have been killed. Some of the bodies have been badly burned or destroyed, making identification extremely challenging.
Separately, 306 soldiers, officers and reservists have also been identified.
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